Sweet Potato Latkes
Nov 30th, 2006 by Greg Bulmash
This is a traditional recipe for potato latkes, a Jewish potato pancake that is a favorite at holiday times, but substitutes sweet potatoes for regular potatoes.
Besides the generally sweeter flavor, which balances very well against the savory flavors like the salt and garlic, the additional sugars in the sweet potatoes (as opposed to the greater levels of starch in regular white potatoes) creates a light carmelization while browning which adds a little more crunch to the latkes.
Ingredients
3 large sweet potatoes
1 large white onion
3 eggs
1/3 cup matzoh meal (crushed matzoh crackers)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 bottle peanut oil
Cheesecloth
Preparation
Peel and grate the potatoes and onion. I use a hand grater because I'm a traditionalist and a massochist, but you can also use a food processor.
Take the potato and onion mixture, wrap in cheesecloth, and squeeze out all the excess liquid you can. Run some water over it, then squeeze again.
Beat the three eggs with a stick blender until good and frothy. If you can get them to thicken a bit, that's good, but not necessary.
Combine the potato and onion mixture in a large mixing bowl with the eggs and dry ingredients (matzoh meal, garlic powder, baking powder, salt, and pepper) and mix well.
It's important to use peanut oil when frying these. While canola might do the job, the cooking temperature and flavor of the peanut oil help make these perfect. While peanut oil is a bit more expensive, it's worth it.
Fill a pan to about 1/3 inch high with peanut oil, and bring the temperature up over medium-to-high heat for about 5 minutes.
Using a tablespoon, drop in heaping spoonfulls of the latke batter. Cook 4-5 minutes on each side until browned, then transfer to a plate covered with a paper towel to drain.
Serve with applesauce or sour cream, or if you're feeling adventurous, serve with my cilantro pear sauce.